Lilveggiepatch

Keep It Moving

2009-01-22T12:12:00.001-08:00

Hey guys! Just wanted to let you know that I've made the move to Wordpress. Please update your blogrolls... I'm not at lilveggiepatch.wordpress.com. It's still a work-in-progress, but bear with me!

Divinity at Tribeca Grill

2009-01-21T19:47:00.000-08:00

Mmm, I just came back from a delicious dinner at the Tribeca Grill. The restaurant is a former warehouse, and it really shows: it's very open, with exposed brick wall and huge ceilings. I told my parents that should it suddenly become a loft built for one with my name on it, I wouldn't complain. Righto!

What's dinner out without bread?

We ordered a delicious bottle of Sandy Cove, a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.

I started with Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Cinnamon Crème Fraiche. This. Was. Heaven. I'm pretty sure that without the crème fraiche, it would have been completely vegan. (The drizzle on top is molasses.)

My dad and I split two entrées, since I couldn't decide which one I wanted and Daddy-O is always very accommodating. This is the pan roasted brook trout with chestnut purée, haricots vert & celery root in brown butter. I ate about 1/3 of a filet... the soup really filled me up. The green beans were my favorite part of this dish.

This was the star of the evening: Spinach and sheep's milk ricotta ravioli with rainbow chard & picholine olives. By the first bite I was completely full, but I could not let the poor ravioli sit all by their lonesome. You know how it goes.

Bring on the desserts! Here we have chocolate truffle cheesecake with morello cherries:

Pumpkin, oatmeal & pecan torte with vanilla ice cream:

And a strawberry semifreddo with a meringue "baton":

We split all the treats in three, but my parents were having trouble finishing their cheesecake. Lilveggiepatch to the rescue! You'd think the pumpkin would have been my favorite, but I didn't even finish my portion in favor of extra cheesecake!

I'm pleasantly and happily- (almost) always happily- full. It's going to be an easy movie night tonight.... We have The Science of Sleep (which I've already seen 1.5 times before) and American Teen. Should be fun! Have a lovely evening.

It's that time again...

2009-01-21T13:59:00.000-08:00

Heya kiddos. How is your day going? Mine has been very strange, mostly because I got up at 9, ate, then went back to sleep until 1. Glorious, but you know how I do.

I had a big bowl of cereal, with two handfuls of All Bran Flakes and two handfuls of Smart Start. I sliced an entire banana (halfway down the road to mushy, also glorious) on top and bathed it in skim. Who says cereal has to be boring?

I had an apple when I woke up...

... and grabbed some dried fruit (date, fig, prune, apricot, candied ginger) on my way out the door to go to the gym.

Got a small coffee with skim milk to take on my ride into the city.

My workout today was not so great (but they can't all be, right?). Since I'm going out to dinner tonight, I'd planned on having a wonderful, 600+ calorie busting session, but that just wasn't in the cards today. I did 35 minutes on the bike, then moved on to the stairs and started to feel sick to my stomach. I hope I'm not coming down with something!

To make up for the lack of greenness in yesterday's eats (just chives and cilantro... bad news) I went to the Whole Foods salad bar. I got some spinach, baked tofu, "chicken" salad (I love this stuff), lemon baked tempeh, broccoli and jicama mango cucumber salad. I squirted on a little creamy avocado dressing (the name itself is enough to make Ari vomit) to give it a little oomf.

I didn't want to have something too heavy, because my parents and I are going to the Tribeca Grill for Restaurant Week. This is the first time since having the blog that Restaurant Week has occurred, but it's pretty much my favorite time (well, times, since it now comes thrice) a year. Assuming you act fast, you can get a three course lunch or dinner at the city's best restaurants for $24.09 or $35.00, respectively. Woo-FREAKING-hoo! By the time I called, our first choices were already booked, but I got us reservations for 7:30 tonight. I'm excited to try something new. It's also co-owned by Robert De Niro, so it'll be interesting to see what his tastes are like (I have a feeling this isn't exactly Italian mobster food).

Have a lovely Wednesday night!

His & Hers

2009-01-20T21:07:00.000-08:00

Guess who's who? This was our cleaning getup; we scoured the house from top to bottom.

I had an apple-icious snack around 6. This wasn't the best apple, but it did the trick.

Have you ever had rotten tofu? I hadn't until today, and let me tell you, it is one of the foulest tastes I have ever had. It was supposed to make up the bulk of my sandwich, but instead I made another of my weirdo concoctions: hummus, Laughing Cow Light, and cilantro on rye bread. I also had a sweet potato with marjarine (my B&B disappeared) and maple syrup, but I zapped the potato for too long and it was a bit dry. Oh well.

I had a Hot'n Healthy bar (Chocolate Chip) a few hours later for dessert. Gosh, I love these things.

Waitress is on TV and Ari and I are watching. He's never seen it before, but it's putting us both in the mood for pie!

Night night :-)

Bringing the edge back to vegetarianism?

2009-01-20T14:24:00.000-08:00

Good evening! Thanks so much for your patience and understanding yesterday... sometimes blogging hiatuses (hiati?) are necessary for mental health, ya know what I mean? I'm still going to blog yesterday's eats, so here we go!

Enjoyed some subway java on my way into the city yesterday:

I thought I had an eye doctor appointment yesterday, but it was actually today. Whoops! I wish I could say that was the fist time I'd done that, but I would be fibbing. So, since I was in the neighborhood, I walked over to Bloomingdales to check out the sales and ended up staying there for over 2 hours! Since I put off lunch while shopping, I did the unthinkable: scarfed down sushi in the dressing room. I'm a classy lady, what can I say?

My mom and I went to Forty Carrots for a snack. According to Mama D, it was the first place in Manhattan to serve frozen yogurt. Pretty cool, but why was this the first time I indulged? I don't know if you can tell the scale of the yogurt from this photo, but apparently it was a "small." Friends, this thing was easily over a pint of ice cream! I could barely finish half of it. It was good, but too much sweetness!

The two flavors are Caribbean Coffee and Mango.

I hauled booty to the gym and had a great workout.

30:00 minutes bike
20:00 minutes stairmaster

arm machines

ab series

Totals:
Time: 1 hour 19 minutes
Maximum heart rate: 182
Average heart rate: 142
Calories burned: 635

I picked up one of these Primal Strips at Whole Foods the other day, and ate one in the locker room for instant energy.

Thai Peanut Primal Strip:

Ingredients: Non-GMO vital gluten (wheat protein), water, unrefined evaporated cane juice, naturally brewed soy sauce (water, non-GMO soybeans, wheat, sea salt), expeller pressed canola oil, peanut butter, vinegar, fresh Thai basil, sea salt, natural vegetarian spices. No MSG.

Nutrition Facts:
Calories: 74
Total Fat: 2g, 1g saturated
Carbohydrates: 8g
Protein: 10g

Well, I certainly felt "primal" ripping into the strip in public and shredding it with my teeth. Some bits of it got stuck in there, but that might not necessarily be a bad thing... who wouldn't want to save a little taste for later, without having to worry about self-restraint? It had a nice smoky flavor, and at 74 calories and 10g of protein, need I say more? It's a great snack, and a great way to fuel up on protein. I'd definitely try these again, and there are quite a few flavors to choose from.

Stewart had a dinner party at his house, so I high-tailed it over from the gym. He'd set up a nice appetizer spread: eggplant dip, chips, veggies, nuts.

Look at all that eggplant-y goodness!

My mom made Lemon-Pepper Parmesan Crackers from the May 1993 issue of Gourmet. They were delicious, especially when smeared with eggplant.

I had quite a few chips, crackers and veggie sticks, just so I could have more of that dip.

I had a glass of Chardonnay (and another with dinner):

Stewart made the best cod (no joke) I've ever had, marinated in soy and covered with bok choy. I have to remember to ask for the recipe...

My dad brought two onion loaves from the Fannie Farmer Bread Book.

We also had Japanese rice salad with tofu:

Gingered butternut squash:

And last but not least... dessert! Cranberry walnut clafoutis (très français):

Apple raisin walnut cake. YUM.

Stewart found a great way to clean the floor: with his feet.

Winding down with clemmies and dark chocolate:

I slacked a little on the groceries this week, and when found neither yogurt or milk in the fridge I decided to have one of my favorite Queens treats (I haven't seen these anywhere else in the city): an oat & raisin bagel with low-fat cream cheese. De-lish!

Good ole $1.10 coffee:

I had a banana on my way out of the doctor's office:

The drops that the eye doctor put in to dilate my pupils did not sit well with me today. I was disoriented, my eyes were very sensitive, and (sorry to be graphic) I thought I was going to throw up. I wandered around for awhile, debating whether or not I should go to the gym, but the thought of getting up on a machine was nauseating. So, I chose the smarter road and went home to relax.

A while ago I saw Jenna make an egg/broth soup when she wasn't feeling well. I don't remember exactly how she made it, but I tried one of my own.

2 cups water
1 whole egg, beaten
2 tsp Better Than Bouillon base
fresh lemon juice
chives (or any other fresh herb)
pepper

Heat water on stove and stir in Better Than Bouillon. When water is just about to boil, remove pot from heat and stir in egg. Season with lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon), chives and pepper. Slurp and enjoy!

It was a lot of soup, but was very tasty and comforting. The egg/chive combo reminded me of the scrambled eggs my mom used to make me when I was sick... classic.

I also had some papaya with Fage 0%, crushed walnuts and honey drizzled on. Perfection.

I met Ari at Starbucks and got a Tall London Fog tea latte. It tastes just like Earl Gray tea, but I think I like the Vanilla Rooibos tea latte bettter.

Off to put on my penguin PJs and do some housework. Hope you had a wonderful day! Do you feel different now that we officially have a new president? Relief? Anything at all?

Tomorrow is another day

2009-01-19T19:53:00.001-08:00

You know the motto... I hope you don't mind if I wait until tomorrow to blog. Just not up to it tonight! Hope you understand.... Sleep well.

Another farewell

2009-01-18T21:12:00.000-08:00

Hi, dreambugs! I hope your weekends wrapped-up beautifully.... maybe with a little football, maybe some sleep... whatever makes you happy!

I had sort of a blah workout today, but at least it was something. I did 20:00 minutes on the stairmaster (226 calories), then got on the bike but after a little more than a minute I got off. I tried to do some arm machines, but after two reps, I just wasn't feeling it and stopped. One of those days, I guess!

I went to Whole Foods with my dad for lunch today. It was a little bigger than usual, but after being so hungry during work last night I didn't want to deal with that again.

Here, I have mesclun greens with Indian curry tofu, BBQ tofu, and Thai "Chicken." I put a little oil and vinegar on the greens.

I also got an 8 oz cup of carrot, ginger and sesame soup. Mmm!

I also had a clementine...

... and a small skim cappuccino with a chocolate hazelnut biscotti.

After lunch, we went to Paragon to get new sneakers!!! They had me run on the treadmill so they could analyze my gait and "technique." Apparently, I pronate to the left, which either caused my stress fracture or is the result of it. Anyway, I got a pair of Asics that has an extra level of stability, and special insoles that support my arches so I won't get plantar fasciitis (OUCH).

Don't they look angelic?

Tonight was my last night of work, so I wanted to treat myself to a delicious sushi dinner. I ordered the sushi combo (7 pieces of sushi and a California roll), but Sunny, the oh-so-amazing sushi chef, sent me home with two extra California rolls and a Slammin' Salmon roll (salmon, lemon & cilantro).

I ate all the sushi, the Slammin' Salmon roll and two pieces of California.

For dessert, I had three clemmies and two pieces of Dagoba dark chocolate. This is one of the best combinations.

Eastern Promises is on TV, so I'm watching that in bed. Bonne nuit!

2009-01-18T09:07:00.000-08:00

Good afternoon, bloggies! I'm so sorry I couldn't get it together to blog yesterday... I got off work at midnight and my brain was just not in a technological mindset by the time I got home.

So, back to two nights ago: the later I stay up, the more likely it is that I will need more food. Simple math, eh? I ended up finishing my Josie's salad the same night!

I tossed it with some Annie's Lite Gingerly Vinaigrette, and it really complemented the salad nicely.

I woke up pretty late yesterday, so all I did was get dressed, hop a subway into the City, and meet my mom for lunch at Seven's Turkish Grill. We ordered exactly the same thing as last time, with the exception that I had a couple cups of Turkish tea.

This lentil soup with lemon is so delicious. I'm going to try to track down the recipe. Extra lemon squirts are key!

The "bomb-diggity" bread... still bomb.

These spreads were just as good as we remembered, with the exception that they were really cold, like they'd been stuck in the fridge overnight and hadn't had a proper chance to thaw out. That didn't stop us, though... we munched along merrily.

Mama D and I spent a lovely day shopping around, and ended with a nice manicure. I got my nails painted with Damsel In A Dress... cute, huh?

I had a banana and an Apricot Clif Bar right before I went to work, around 4:45.

Sadly, those snacks didn't hold me over through my 7.5 hour shift, and I started looking at the clock and reading the menu at 8:30. I had some restaurant nibbles: a couple nachos, a clementine, a lot of club soda with lime...

When I finally got to eat (in the car, at 12:15) I pretty much inhaled my dinner. Because it was my second to last night, I wanted to have the first meal I had there (I'm sentimental like that): steamed shrimp dumplings (sorry about the photo, it was taken in transit):

... and goat cheese salad. This really comes with a full bed of lettuce with cabbage and tomato, and two other goat cheese crostinis, but I was so hungry that I was almost finished before I remembered to take a photo.

My dad dropped me off at the diner (what a nice daddy) where I had a little wine with Ari. I came home and had a mint Skinny Dipper (finally, Sarah!). Yes, it's a little too green, but it is mighty tasty.

Last night I made overnight oats to have for breakfast this morning. It has been a while, OO, and I'm glad to have you back!

1/2 cup steel-cut oats
1/2 cup water
1 small container 0% Fage
1 banana
cinnamon
1 T maple syrup

I'm off now to organize my day. Enjoy the rest of your weekends!

Meet & Greet

2009-01-16T19:38:00.000-08:00

Good evening, all! I just had a very exciting night. It was a first for me: a blogger meet-up! Caroline, Erica, Nicole and I met (how many ways can I conjugate that verb?) at Josie's for dinner. This was the first time I've broken the "blog-wall," so to speak; I was a little nervous, I have to admit! The girls were all really nice, and it was so fun to dish (pun intended!) with other people who also snap photos about 435 times a day.

So... what do you get when you put four food bloggers at a table together? Strobe-like, seizure-inducing camera flashes, foodie news and gossip, indoor photography woes... I could go on and on, but if you're reading this you probably know what I'm talking about, anyway!

The bread basket came around and we all chose seven-grain bread... sameness was sort of the theme of the night! Josie's makes delicious sweet potato hummus. It's delicious, and seems pretty simple to make (although I've already forgotten the third ingredient besides sweet potato and tahini).

The basket came back... Caroline and I split pieces of cornbread and focaccia.

We all ordered exactly the same thing for dinner: Seared Asian Marinated Organic Tofu Salad with baby arugula roasted vegetables, chickpeas and avocado.

Now, this should have been simple enough, but we all decided we did not want the balsamic vinaigrette the salad came with but rather not one but TWO special dressings... and on the side, please. Ha. Totally worth it, though, because the dressings were amazing: carrot miso and red wine wasabi vinaigrette.

The salad itself was so, so good, and it was nice to be able to dip into two different dressings. It was actually pretty big, so I bagged what I didn't finish and took it home.

We did not, of course, skimp on dessert. They were all vegan and very, very tasty.

Warm pumpkin pie with "soy drizzle" :

Ginger berry pie with oat-y crust and soy vanilla ice cream:

Chocolate pecan pie with graham cracker crust and soy ice cream. This was everyone's favorite!

But, as you can see, we weren't really in the mood for dessert.

That's it for me... I'm brushed and in bed like a good little girl. Hope you've had fabulous Fridays!

Busy Bumble... and a product review

2009-01-16T15:19:00.000-08:00

We stayed up very late watching All About Eve last night... what a great movie. Ari was quite taken with young Miss Norma Jean! I got a boxed set of Bette Davis movies for Christmas, and we're working our way through them.

I was feeling pretty snacky by the time I got home last night. I really wanted an orange, but we didn't have any, so I settled for the next best thing... an Orange Cranberry Gnu bar.

This morning (er, 12:30 PM) I had a big bowl of oats.

3/4 cup oats (made with skim milk)
1 tsp peanut butter
1 banana
1 tsp maple syrup
sprinkle of pecans
sprinkle of chocolate chips

I went to the gym and had a decent workout:

20:00 minutes stairmaster
16:00 minutes bike

ab series
stretching

total: 50:34 minutes
maximum heart rate: 174
average heart rate: 143
calories burned: 4- -?

I try to avoid eating a nutrition bar right after exercising, but since I slept so late and I'm eating dinner our at 7:30, I settled.

Product Review: Amazing Grass Organic GreenSuperFood

Ingredients: Organic dates, organic agave nectar , Amazing Grass Green Superfood (organic wheatgrass, organic barley grass, organic alfalfa, organic spirulina, organic spinach, organic chlorella, organic broccoli, organic açai, organic maca, organic carrots, organic beet, raspberry, organic rosehips, pineapple, green tea, organic flax lignans, L. acidophilus, alpha and beta amylase, protease, lipase, lactase, cellulase, organic peppermint), organic cashews, organic almond butter, organic rice crisps, organic almonds, organic sunflower seeds, organic dried cranberries, organic pumpkin seeds, organic dried coconut, organic vanilla extract

Nutrition Facts:
230 calories
8g fat, 1.5 g saturated
36 grams carbohydrates
5 grams protein

I liked this bar. Although the color was slightly off-putting (dark brown/greenish), I've definitely eaten more questionable things before. It had the texture of a Larabar, and tasted both earthy and sweet. The calories and fat are a little high considering the only moderate level of protein, but I would probably buy it again.

I came home and had a Sunkist navel orange:

And made the recipe I've gotten the most mileage out of: Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Squares (and cleaned the bowl, thank you!).

I'll have a treat for you later tonight... stay posted!

Gives you hell...

2009-01-15T20:17:00.000-08:00

Sorry, but that song has been in my head all day. Moving on...

Another late morning! I don't know what's up with our sleep schedules, but it is funking me up. I had a lunch date in the early afternoon, so I just grabbed a banana and a coffee on my way out. This was not my finest coffee-making day... it tasted so watery!

I met Kalle for lunch and we went to our usual, Tomo, and had our oh-so-yum bento boxes. I had a bowl of miso soup (which also tasted watery! I poured in some soy sauce...) and a cup of hot tea.

Clockwise from leeft to right: tempura, California roll, brown rice, seaweed/ soybeans, tofu teriyaki.

I had one of my figgy bars on the street:

Kalle and I went back to my house and played with nail polish and watched silly TV, just like the goold ole days.

I rushed down to the gym for a quickie.

20:00 minutes on the stairs
arm machines
ab series

42:32 minutes total
maximum heart rate: 180
average heart rate: 142

I rushed over to dinner at Eatery, where I met my parents and Stewart.

The waiter brought out some kind of sweet and crunchy rice crisps. I forgot my wallet at home tonight, which meant no ID so no vino for me!

We split the shrimp spring rolls with grilled banana, Japanese eggplant and black sesame dipping sauce.

For my entrée, I ordered a salad with black tea crusted salmon, smoked tofu, grilled pineapple, organic mixed greens and avocado-jalepeño vinaigrette on the side.

I had a triangle of whole wheat pita. Bad contrast!

We were going to a play tonight, so I got a cup of coffee as a preventative method... it failed and I snoozed through the entire first act (Pal Joey is a musical, I might add, so sleeping should have been difficult...).

We shared a bar of this dark chocolate four ways.

I snuck two clementines on the way out of the theater.

I have a very exciting day day planned for tomorrow, so I want to get enough shut-eye so I can fully enjoy it to the max. Bonne nuit!

Edited to add: Head on over to Oh She Glows for a chance to win some delicious Honest Foods products!

MUPPETS FROM SPACE!!!

2009-01-14T20:22:00.000-08:00

Yes, kids, remember when? And what about the even cuter Muppet Babies who kept us company during the day when our mommies and daddies were at work?

Ari and I are enjoying a glass of wine and Muppets From Space (okay, so not exactly like it was in pre-school). Pure genius.

This morning I was dismayed to discover that I'd eaten the last of the bananas, so I whipped up some hot PB & J oats.

1/2 cup oats
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 tsp peanut butter
1 tsp blackberry jam
1 tsp wheat germ
dried apricot, prune, craisins, currants

I should add that we slept a wee bit late and didn't have "breakfast" until 12:30! I haven't done that since I was at school (although I'm sure I'll be doing that again in a couple weeks when I'm staying up late studying... blegh). We spent the day doing some household chores and running errands (repeat this mantra: I will be a domestic goddess, I will be a domestic goddess...).

Around 4:30 I had lunch using the hummus I made yesterday:

Garlic-free hummus (this was accidental, but it turned out well):

1- 1/2 cups chickpeas, cooked and drained
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1-1/2 lemons
3 tablespoons tahini
1/4 teaspoons cumin
1/8 teaspoons salt
water as needed

Combine all the ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy, adding water as needed to ease the blending process. Serve and enjoy!

I made a very strange sandwich that ended up being pretty tasty. Using two slices of rye bread, I spread hummus on one and stone ground mustard on the other. I added fresh spinach and sliced fresh tofu, which I sprinkled with salt and pepper. Yum!

I also had a Sunkist navel orange.

I went home to have a nice dinner with my parents... and take a long hot soak in the tub with my book and a glass of wine. My mom has been on a big Malbec kick recently. This guy had a black cork!

She prepared a lovely appetizer spread, from which I ate almost a whole carton of cherry tomatoes, some carrots, radishes and apple.

My mom made one of the best salads I have ever had. It was made of baby arugula, frisée, toasted hazelnuts, and roasted butternut squash.

We also had crab cakes from Citarella, steamed green beans, and leftover mushroom risotto. Now, I don't know if I've ever expressed my love of crab cakes to you, but they are one of my most beloved foods. (I almost got them at Ruth's Chris last night.) I'm not going to say that's why I'm dating Ari, but he is from Maryland, so...

All together with some ice cold milk.

We also enjoyed a lovely spread of mini pastries from Citarella, which we ate in the pre-school way (in keeping with our theme, of course): bite one, and pass it on...

I did do one Yoga Download today (Power Yoga 1) but I haven't had a sweaty cardio session in days and I'm pretty sure that's why my energy's been so bum. I'm setting my alarm early to make sure i do that tomorrow.

Off to save Gonzo... have a lovely night.

The Lost Weeknight

2009-01-13T20:40:00.001-08:00

Heya! So, this is going to be kind of a weird post (you'll find out why by the end); I apologize in advance if it's a little irritating, but sometimes these things just happen.

I went to Starbucks with Greg and got a tall Berry Chai. It's been awhile since Greg's graced Lilveggiepatch, so here's a nice little shot:

The tea was great, but it kept getting on my face! Every few minutes or so Greg would rub his nose and go, "Katie. Your nose has red stuff. Like Rudolph."

I had some free time today so I finally got to whip up an item I've been eying for awhile: Veggie Girl's Fig and Almond Blondies. I made a couple edits to her recipe for economic reasons (I already had Greek yogurt so I didn't buy soy, I used almond milk, etc.), but I followed her instructions to the T. All I had to buy were the

My health food store didn't have black mission figs, so I used plain old California dried.

Let me tell you, I have a whole new respect for miss VG! "Finely chopping" these guys takes a lot of elbow grease, and you can see that my chunks are pretty big.

All the ingredients look so nice together. Look at all those textures!

And my reward:

These were seriously (seriously, Meredith) some of the best things I've ever baked. These are definitely a keeper, and I can see them being a stand-in for my Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Squares.

So, for the past few years, since our favorite Chinese restaurant changed management, I have been on a quest for cold sesame noodles that taste like cold sesame noodles and not a greasy mess. I've been meaning to try Hungry Girl's version for a long time, and tonight was the night.

I adapted it a little (for example, eliminating Splenda):

1 package Shirataki angel hair noodles
1 tbsp + 1 tsp peanut butter
1/2 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp almond milk
2 tbsp chopped chives
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
1 minced garlic clove
1 tsp honey

Rinse and dry shirataki noodles; pat dry. Microwave noodles for 1 minute. In a separate bowl, combine the rest of ingredients. Pour over noodles and mix well. Chill for at least one hour (or cheat and put it in the freezer). Serve and enjoy!

So, on to the mystery of tonight: Ari and I have been planning on going to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for quite some. Tonight we snuck out and raced into the city and went... it was so spontaneous that I completely forgot my camera! So I kind of used it as an excuse to go all out, splurge-wise. I'm not going to blog about it, but suffice it to say that it started with shoestring fries and ended with Coldstone Creamery. I'm not feeling tippy top right now, but it was totally worth the nice evening. And, as always, tomorrow is another day.

Have a lovely night!

The girl with one left shoe

2009-01-13T12:17:00.000-08:00

Hello and happy Tuesday! I'm currently blogging from the bathroom (hooray for WiFi) while I wait for my shower water to heat up. Yesterday was wonderful in terms of eats and movies, which makes it an A+ day in my book.

Last night before dinner, I had a glass of white wine as I caught up on the blogs. I wasn't a huge fan of it, so I sipped one glass throughout the course of a few hours.

My parents prepared a wonderful meal, starting out with a loaf of the first bread that my dad and I ever made together (way back when): Anadama bread.

In case you're not familiar with Anadama bread, the history is as follows (courtesy of The Food Timeline):

"Anadama bread. A bread made from cornmeal and molasses. The term dates in print to 1915, but is probably somewhat older. If it were not for the frequency of their citation, it would be difficult to believe the story most often cited is of a Gloucester, Massachusetts, fisherman's wife named Anna, who gave her husband nothing but cornmeal and molasses to eat every day. One night the fisherman got so angry, he tossed the ingredients in with some yeast and flour and made a bread in the oven while muttering to himself, "Anna, damn her!" A more affectionate story has a New England sea captain referring to his wife with the same name expletive as a phrase of endearment. This Anna was apparently adept at bread-baking, and she became well known for her cornmeal-and-molasses loaf among the fishing crews who appreciated this long-lasting, hearty bread. There was, supposedly, a gravestone to this legendary woman that read, Anna wes a lovely bride, but Anna, Damn'er, up and died. One source contends that a commerical bakery called ist product "Annadammer" or "Annadama bread."
---Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 6)

The meal was a joint effort on my parents part (my role being happy recipient). My mom made a delicious risotto using seven different kinds of mushrooms, with a shaved parmesan garnish. My dad made a lovely spinach curried with Greek yogurt and supplemented with tofu to make a complete protein.

We all split an avocado, which was drizzled with tangerine vinegar, salt & pepper:

The house is being painted, so we had a cozy TV dinner while we watched Midnight. Oh, go see this now... Claudette Colbert is lovely and funny (and plays a girl from Indiana!), and it takes place in Paris.

And then came the desserts. There's a small bakery in the West Village, Patisserie Claude, that my dad sometimes stops at to pick up tasty treats for us. "Tasty treats" is the understatement of understatements, by the way.

Chocolate chestnut cake:

Cappuccino mousse with brulée topping:

Apple tarte tatin:

Heaven, pure and simple. We split each dessert three ways.

When I got home, Ari was finished with work so we decided to make it a movie night (part II, for me). We watched Atlantic City, with Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon (and Wally Shawn in a cameo as a waiter). It's gritty, grimy, and wonderful.

This morning I had another PB&J breakfast cookie. It started off as a peace sign but ended up looking more like a flower...

1/2 cup oats
1/2 scoop protein powder
1 tbsp peanut butter
1/4 cup skim milk
1/2 sunkist orange
1 tsp + extra strawberry jam for garnish
dried fruit (craisins, currants, apricot, dates)

I also ripped off a hunk of Anadama bread.

I had a large coffee with skim on the subway; it was too much liquid for me so early in the morning (well... at 11 AM) so I only had half.

I got all the way to the gym (about a 45 minute subway ride in the opposite direction from both of my apartments) only to discover I had left one sneaker at home. Whoops! I went chez maman et papa to do a 20 minute detox flow from Yoga Downloads so at least I could do something active.

Picked up some staples at the grocery store...

This was my first experiment with butternut squash fries. TASTY.

I made a very voluminous salad for lunch.

baby arugula
1 chopped apple
chik'n strips (Morningstar Farms)
cherry tomatoes
raw green beans
dressing (fig infused vinegar, EVOO, grey poupon mustard)

I'm off to go play with Greg, then hopefully cook something scrumptious. I'm on my own for dinner tonight (movies! empty kitchen! debauchery!), so I'll try to think up something fun.

Have a lovely evening!

Look guys, no beard!

2009-01-12T15:12:00.000-08:00

Well, maybe a little one, but nothing compared to the old guy! A couple nights ago when I came home from work, Ari told me he had a present for me. It was dark, so I couldn't really see him, and when he presented me with a little ziplock baggie I wasn't sure what was in it. Yep, it was beard hair!!! (We're weird, I know.)

My workout was pretty quick today because of my dentist's appointment.

20:00 stairs, levels 7-9

Arm machines (I don't know why, but the shoulder presses have been really difficult for me the past few times and I can't do more than two sets.)

No ab series today!

We were going to go to Whole Foods for lunch, but we peeped inside and it was pretty much all-around pandemonium. We went to Cosi instead (which didn't end up being much better). It's funny- I never go to Cosi (although it used to be my and Kalle's go-to place), but I've been twice in less than 24 hours!

Today I got a "Duo" with half a sandwich ("Fire roasted veggies" with feta spread) and a small salad (Signature Light- my favorite). I also got some sweet baby carrots, which I shared with Ari.

After the dentist (A+ in oral health!) I went to H & M. They were having a sale so I got some great stuff and a free sweater! I've been looking for a full black skirt (this is a high-waisted lacy tulip) so I was very happy to find one that fit well for a nice price! I'm also a sucker for accessories, and they had cute little hairpins so I got some of those and a boat-necked nautical shirt. Ah, materialism, how I love thee.

I picked Charley up from the groomers (note to self: do not wear Chucks and then walk 25 blocks in below freezing weather). No more Mop Dog!

I made a Fage / clemmies (2)/ prunes (2)/walnut snack:

I drizzled it with a little pomegranate syrup. It was a perfect addition: sweet and tangy. We got this syrup a while ago when we made a bulgar pilaf recipe. Thanks for the idea, Daddy-O!

To stay on my dairy kick, I also had a Laughing Cow Light cheese.

My parents have a yummy dinner planned. I might try to prep a few items to have later in the week... I haven't been cooking so much lately, if ya hadn't noticed!

Have a lovely Monday evening! (I STILL can't get last week's episode of Gossip Girl to play...)

2009-01-12T07:24:00.000-08:00

Yes, kids, I finally got my Twilight on. It was better than I expected, but still not entirely satisfying, if that makes any sense... I thought Bella was okay, but Edward was a little strange. He definitely took cues from Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands, but not in a good way.

Anyway, at the movies I had some snacks: two mini butterfinger bitelettes (not pictured, we couldn't find the box in the dark), a Peanut Butter Z Bar and a new kind of cappuccino they're selling at the movie theaters. It was definitely NOT skim, and came pre-sweetened, but it reminded me of the coffee from the machines at my school in Paris so I drank half of it anyway.

I was starving and pressed for time when the movie got out, so I got a Tomato Basil and Mozzarella sandwich on wheat at Cosi, with a small baggie of carrots. I went back to the bread sample bin several times... Why does it have to be so addicting?!

During work I had some orange slices and an oyster. For dinner, I ordered a California veggie burger (avocado & cheese) with blue cheese, no bun and a side salad. I ate almost everything on that plate! I also ordered a glass of Albariño (Spanish white wine).

My dad brought be half a Macadamia nut brownie in the car...

I also had an orange before bed.

My breakfast cookie this morning was delicious (and purple!):

1/2 cup oats
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
remainder of yogurt container
1 tsp peanut butter
1 tsp jelly
dried fruit

I'm off to run loads of errands (gym, dentist, pick poodlepie up from groomers). Have a wonderful day!

2009-01-11T09:16:00.000-08:00

Bon arès-midi! It's been a lazy morning chez Ari et Katie... we slept until 10:40, which hasn't happened in I don't know how long! It's kind of a nice change, although I do feel like I missed out a little on my day considering I have to be at work in five hours. Oh well! Let's backtrack.

Yesterday I had an amazing workout at the gym.

20:00 minutes stairmaster
13:00 minutes bike
10:00 more minutes on the stairmaster (I found a new magazine I wanted to read, which really makes all the difference)

arm machines (shortened to two instead of four; the gym was very crowded)

ab series (no plank)

I used my HRM Andrea-style and kept it on the whole time I was active (machines, stretching, abs, etc), and burned a whopping 600 calories in 1 hour and 8 minutes. Woohoo!

I was pretty hungry after my workout, so I headed to Whole Foods and bee-lined to the salad bar. I filled up the bottom with mixed greens, then proceeded to try every form of fake meat there: plain baked tofu, Indian curry tofu, seitan something, etc. I can't remember everything, sorry! I also had two dumplings, couscous, and this amazing fig and dandelion salad. I love figs!

Although I wasn't exactly hungry, I finished off "lunch" (at 4!) with a ThinkThin Brownie Crunch bar (sorry for the blurry pic, I took it on a moving subway car) so I wouldn't be ravenous throughout my work shift. I've put off trying these bars before because 1) the name kind of puts me off, and 2) they're pricey! I had a coupon for .50 off so I sucked it up and bought it. It was pretty good, although I'm not entirely sure why "glycerin" needs to be on the ingredients list.

I had some goldfish and white chocolate (blegh!) nibbles throughout work, and champagne for my shift drink.

I ordered a spicy tuna handroll:

And this is what's left of my Crispy Crunchy Salad. I was so hungry I forgot to take a picture!

Usual breakfast cookie this morning, although it was 36 hours old, so it was actually kind of hard like a cookie!

Gotta go, busy day. I'll catch up on your blogs tonight!

A quick one while he's away...

2009-01-10T09:06:00.000-08:00

... in the shower, that is. I'm going to make this speedy... I'm getting a late start on my day and already slept through my yoga class. Boo.

Last night I had an apple before I went to bed.

Special treat at the diner: I've been eying these chocolate chip banana pancakes for over a year. Yes, you red that right.

Today Ari surprised me by ordering them for himself (sans banana).

Pretty good job, dontcha think?

Have a great day!

Behold the healing powers of miso!

2009-01-09T20:08:00.000-08:00

All your well wishes seemed to do the trick; I feel almost 100% now. Of course, I do have to give a little credit to the good food I had tonight. I'm obviously not a doctor, but I'm a firm believer that unless you've got some kind of stomach bug, it's best to eat foods that both comfort and nourish when you're not feeling your best. Anyway, on to the eats! I've been lucky enough to eat with my parents almost every night this week, and we've had quite the spectrum of food.

We started off with some edamame:

Some much-needed green tea and miso soup:

I wasn't sure if I'd be able to finish all of my usual dinner, the sashimi bento box. I ordered it anyway...

And ate every last bite! (Except for the rice.) It was delicious. I could really eat this every day. In the box was green salad, shrimp and vegetable tempura, tuna and salmon sashimi and a California roll. Finger-lickin' good!

I came home and did some cute little domestic things, like fold laundry and arrange my closet. My idea of a Friday night! Ha, actually I didn't even know it was Friday until my parents reminded me, and I'm all for having a relaxing evening at home. I had the perfect nightcap: a navel orange and a rectangle of Dagoba New Moon (yes, I may have bought it for the name) 74% dark chocolate.

I'm all snuggly in bed watching Charlie Bartlett, but I have a feeling I'll be falling asleep before the movie's over. It seems pretty brilliant so far though, so I hope I can stay awake for it.

Have a lovely evening!

You Noodlehead

2009-01-09T15:58:00.000-08:00

Hi there! I almost typed "good morning" and then "good afternoon"... I'm a little out of it; I flopped into bed for a nap early this afternoon and just now woke up. Blegh.

Even though I was unbelievably full last night, I had an apple before bed. Sometimes when I've eaten too much I do that because I think it will de-bloat me... does anyone else ever try that?

I've felt a little off all day. I think it started this morning, when we slept in until ten and then headed over to diner for some munchies.

I got a huuuuge bowl of oatmeal... this is much bigger than it looks! I'd say the bowl held about two cups. I got pecans and blueberries on the side.

About 1/3 of the way through, I started getting full. I love oatmeal so much that I just kept eating and ended up feeling overstuffed.

When I got downtown to go to the gym the food was not even close to being settled, so I wandered around Barnes & Noble in a daze for a little.

My workout today was horrible... I wasn't feeling great, and I just didn't want to be there working out. I did 20 minutes on the stairmaster, and I'm surprised I even made it that long. I tried to do the machines, but after my first arm list I looked in the mirror and said out loud to myself, "I can't do this today."

I felt claustrophobic all day, even when I was outdoors, like I couldn't get enough air. I'm not sure what that's about...

When I got home, I had leftover "chicken noodle soup" (broth, chik'n, shirataki noodles). I was so excited when I discovered that I could make "healthy ramen" (yes, I do actually like the taste of ramen, I'm not ashamed to admit it)!

I also had an Ezekiel muffin with almond butter and mango butter.

With vitamins and Emergen-C:

And a huge apple:

I still don't feel so hot, and we're going out to my favorite Japanese restaurant so I hope I feel better soon enough to fully enjoy it.

Have a lovely Friday night!

Shall we dine?

2009-01-08T19:23:00.001-08:00

Good evening! This is going to be quite a busy post, and I'm very tired, so if my words start to slur or ZZZZs start appearing, consider yourselves warned.

Although I got up bright and early (which is getting more and more easy to do), I had lunch plans at noon and didn't have time to go to the gym. It's funny, but I can really feel a change in my body when I don't go (and no, I don't just mean "guilt"). It gives me so much energy and, more importantly, it gets me out of the house and starting my day.

I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast all by my lonesome (Ari's record is being presented to their label tomorrow and he is very busy... wish him luck! Not that he needs it...). It's been awhile since I've had cold cereal, so I had a great big bowl of All Bran Flakes and Smart Start with skim milk. I went out early to get breakfast for the boys and picked a coffee up for myself on the way.

I finally got on the Yoga Download train and did Hip Opening #1. It was great! I expected not to be able to follow it so clearly and have to look at the diagrams all the time (and thus interrupt my "flow"), but the audio was really clear and I actually kept my eyes closed for most of it. I'm glad I figured out that I can do this from home!

I went to the Museum Of Modern Art (MOMA) today to see The Hustler with my friend Howard. Now, I've been a Paul Newman fan (sniff sniff) for quite some time, but to be perfectly honest, I don't know if I've ever seen him look so handsome. The movie is great, if you haven't seen it- I think it's the prequel to The Color of Money.

Before the movie, we went to Maison for lunch. It's a Belgian bistro that's owned by the French Roast/ L'Express franchise, and like the other two is opened 24 hours. (Poor servers!) I went there the last time I went to MOMA and ordered the moules frites, so I wanted to try something different this time. The menu has a lot of things that are suitable for vegetarians (although vegans may not be so fortunate, sorry guys). I ordered the asparagus/swiss/egg crêpe... it reminded me of the crêpe stands in Paris (and one unfortunate night when I thought a 1-lb mushroom/cheese/egg crêpe was a good idea at 3 AM) and I ate every last bite.

After the movie, I found my beautiful Kalle and we went to Levain Bakery for their delicious chocolate chip walnut cookies. Next time you're in New York, go here. Seriously. These are the most amazing cookies (besides my aunt Mary's, of course) that I've ever had... they're half a pound each! They're worth every bite. The women who founded the bakery are bikers, so they understand the need for a little treat every now and then!

I had a couple bites of Kalle's, but was saving up for my new bar and a trip to Starbucks (I fell asleep again during the first hour of the movie, surprise surprise).

At Starbucks, I tried the Vanilla Rooibos tea latte (and forgot to take a picture! I can't believe it). A tall skim is 150 calories, and it was just the right amount for me. I also tried my first Gnu bar, in the Orange Cranberry Flavor.

Nutrition Facts:
Calories: 130
Fat Cal: 30
Total Fat: 3g
Carbohydrates: 32g
Protein: 3g
Fiber: 12g

Ingredients: Gnu High Fiber Blend (whole rolled oats, organic whole wheat flour, wheat bra, organic kamut, psyllium, flax, millet), chicory root, inulin, fruit juices, rice dextrins, raisins, apples, canola oil, plums, cranberries, rice, natural flavors, wheat protein isolate, baking powder.

Kalle and I had entirely different takes on this bar. As someone who doesn't usually consume copious amounts of nutrition bars- a normal person- (she usually sticks to Clif and Luna), I feel her voice has precedence:
"Too tangy and orangy. Yucky. Too berry and seedy. Too grainy. Too tart."
She didn't even want to finish the piece I gave her... not looking good for you, Gnu. When I tried it, I had an entirely different experience. As soon as I opened the package, a waft of orange fragrance breezed out. I liked the texture of it, and although it was very citrus-y, I appreciated the chunks of fruity-goodness. I would definitely buy these again, although I still have four more of the same flavor (I got a box at Whole Foods of 5/$7... hard to beat) so I'd like to try the other kinds.

On to dinner! I was veeeery spoiled, food-wise, today. My mom's colleagues at work gave her a gift certificate to the Daniel consortium, and we chose to go to Daniel Boulud's newest restaurant in Lincoln Center, Bar Boulud. I've been to his other Manhattan restaurants (Daniel, Café Boulud), and they all have very different feels. Bar Boulud was very low-key, unpretentious, and packed.

Empty glasses...

... magically filled by the wino fairy! My mom and I each got a tasting flight; I got white and she red.

In my flight:

Domaine Mardon, Quincy "Cuvée très vignes" 2007. Loire valley, Sauvignon Blanc.

Olivier LeFlaive, Rully premier cru "Rabource" 2005. Bourgougne, Chardonnay.

Michel & Stephane Ogier, VDP "Viognier de rosine," 2006. Rhone valley, Viognier.

The Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier were my favorites. I thought the Viognier tasted like rose; the sommelier told us the taste was jasmine. I'm going to try to find a bottle of this somewhere.

The amuse bouche was a flaky popover-like bread filled with a light cheese. Very good, and yummy with the wine! I wish I'd known it was coming or I wouldn't have raided the bread basket beforehand...

My mom and I split oysters. Yumyumyum.

You can bet I ate that last one!

Don't they look nice? Good food puts everyone in such a good mood.

If you tilt your head (I swear, when I have a free day I'm going to look at all my blogging options...) you can see my striped bass with chestnuts, butternut squash and sautéed greens. I ate everything except for one little scrap of fish that I let my poor daddy have.

Dessert was so scrumptious that I'm going to taunt you with multiple shots of each (we split them both three ways).

Noisette mousse with toasted hazelnuts, milk chocolate, vanilla and chocolate ice cream:

The dessert special: Meyer lemon tart with finely shaved pistachio croutons, meringue and vanilla ice cream.

I am so happily full right now (hence the drowsiness). I'm just going to fold the laundry and fall into bed... have a lovely evening!

Whirlwind of activity

2009-01-07T21:06:00.000-08:00

Pfew! What a day. I didn't even do all that much, but commuting from place to place (today I was in three different burroughs!) that really wipes me out. I went all the way uptown today just to get a couple hours of mid-day shut-eye... you gotta do what you gotta do.

This morning I made a breakfast cookie out of steel cut oats, which was a first for me. It was definitely a lot chewier, and I think they work better as overnight oats or plain ole stovetop (which reminds me, I don't even remember the last time I made oatmeal on the stove!), but it still tasted yummy and filled me up. I topped it with a craisin/currant version of Ari's band's logo. Bring on the cheese.

1/2 cup steel cut oats
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 tbsp peanut butter
1/2 banana
2 big scoops nonfat plain yogurt
craisins/ currants

I made a little pit stop at Wallgreens on the way to the gym for some much needed supplies. (Yes, Lucky is a necessity, thank you very much.)

I took Caroline's advice and bought some Tiger Balm to rub into my sore spots. I had an awful experience in 6th grade when I applied Bengay to my stomach (for kicks, I guess?) and was promptly told by one of my classmates that I smelled like a peppermint. My abs have been pretty uncomfortable for the last few days, so I tested a small amount of TB on my stomach. It wasn't too painful, so I just slathered it on my tummy.

I'm still getting to know my HRM, so here are the stats I do have:

Stairmaster: 20:00 minutes
Bike: 20:00 minutes
About 440 calories burned... I might have to take my notebook with me again until I get the watch figured out.

Usual ab series, minus leg lifts (abs need a little rest)

I had an apple on the way out. If I'm gonna take pictures in the gym, I might as well set the stage!

I went to Whole Foods to pick up some things. I got three new bars (Gnu, ThinkThin & Amazing Grass Organic Superfood), Unsweetened Almond Breeze, Ezekiel Sprouted 7 Grain English Mufins, a dark chocolate bar, and my usual bar variety. Whole Foods always has coupons for bars, so be sure to pick the coupon booklet up at the front of the store! I was distressed to discover that their Union Square locations does not have a bulk foods bar. What's up with that, WF?

I decided to try something that's been in our fridge for a very long time:

I used it to cover one half of my English muffin. On the other half, I had a whole can of [dolphin safe] tuna mixed with the juice of half a lemon, two tsp of Fage, craisins and grapes; dijon mustard, and lettuce. Yum! (Tuna salad does not photograph so well...) I'd planned on having butternut squash fries, but alas, the squash was no longer. Instead, I had a sweet potato with B&B and brown sugar. Not much of a sacrifice, I have to say... I think I could eat these guys every day.

With almond milk (I added vanilla extract to it and it tasted like coconut...?) and my long-lost vitamins:

I had a date and a prune for dessert, each stuffed with peanut butter and a chocolate chip.

This evening, I went to see The Cherry Orchard with my parents at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in Fort Green.

We went to an Austrian Bistro called Thomas Beisl for dinner, which was conveniently right across the street. I started with a glass of Grüner Veltliner.

Blurry bread plate that tastes better than it looks... soft and salty! I had a slice with a little butter.

My parents and I split an appetizer sampler of different Austrian salads: beet, potato, cucumber, and lentil.

For my entrée, I had oven-baked salmon (they couldn't grill, steam or poach it) with sautéed greens and parmesan polenta. It was delicious. I'd actually been planning on making a polenta dish that I saw in SELF later this week, so I guess I'll hold off on that! I had half the salmon, all the greens and 2/3 of the polenta. I don't know why, but I was full after only a few bites. I kept on eating, but I'm glad I didn't force myself to eat the whole thing.

I needed a little coffee to make sure I wouldn't fall asleep during the play, which has been known to happen with me....

For dessert, we all split an apple cranberry oatmeal crumble with vanilla ice cream. It was divine. I'll have to remember to use toasted oats as a topping!

The play was really, really good. The cast was stellar (Ethan Hawke, Rebecca Hall, Richard Easton, Sinéad Cusack, etc.) and the story (Chekov) was great. The theater itself was really neat, too, and I snuck a look at the café menu and that looks good, too!

I'm off to douse myself in Tiger Balm goodness hit the hay. Oh, and I also just had a pickle and a light Baby Bell cheese. No photo... it all happened so fast!

Bonne nuit, mes amis.

Peanut Butter & Thai

2009-01-06T18:02:00.000-08:00

Hello bloginas and bloginos (I know there's at least one of you...)! I hope you have all had fabulous Tuesdays. I love being able to blog more than once a day; I feel much less overwhelmed when I don't have to upload 38 pictures at once!

I lazed around the house for awhile today (I loved reading what you all do to get comfy when you come home... I thought the jewelry/jeans thing was just me!) and finally decided around 2 to head out to the gym. Before I left I had a banana, which I nestled in a sweater so that he could be cozy, too.

Today was my first day using my beautiful new heart rate monitor. I'm still learning about how to use it, so bear with me while I figure it out... my stats are kind of incomplete today but I'll do my best.

Stairmaster- 20:00 minutes
Elliptical (I think that's what it was... it was kind of this free-form flying contraption)- 7:00 minutes (the machine turned off when I went to get water)
Bike- 15:00 minutes

Calories burned: 449

I also did my usual arm series (4 machines, 3 sets of 10). My abs are in so much pain because of my new yoga habit, so I decided to give them a rest and only did 60 crunches. I spent the rest of the time using the roller... I could roll around on that thing forever! Nothing feels better than stretching out sore muscles.

I decided to have breakfast for lunch (if that's what you can call it at 4:30) and had a delicious (if not aesthetically pleasing) bowl of peanut butter and jelly super protein oats.

1/2 cup oats
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
2 big scoops nonfat plain yogurt
1 tsp peanut butter
1 tsp blackberry jam
dried currents

This was a great combination (sadly I cannot take the credit for pairing peanut butter and jelly). I wonder what it would taste like hot... and cooked, for that matter!

I went shopping for dinner in Chinatown tonight. Let me tell you, if it wasn't so out of the way I would go there every day! They have great produce, and everything is so cheap! I got all of this for under $20. (Those long purple things are Chinese eggplants.)

Dinner tonight was from Moosewood Cookbook: New Classics. You've probably already figured out how much my family and I love Moosewood recipes. They never fail to disappoint! I would love to go to their restaurant, but I'm not sure when I'll find myself in Ithaca.

Stage 1: some tofu, red bell pepper, and snow peas.

Stage 2: Add some rice noodles, a little egg, some hot chili paste, rice vinegar and soy sauce...

Lime garnish, bean sprouts, a little lime, fresh peanuts and TA DA! Pad Thai.

This was one of the only times we've all gotten to sit down and eat together, and it was pretty nice.

Look at that crazy eye!

Finished my meal off with a Grolsch and a golden delicious apple. Interesting combination.

And then, because the night couldn't end without a little chocolate (trend of the week!) I had a vanilla Skinny Dipper. Yum. I'm also reading one of the best books I've read this year... well, the only book I've read this year, but of 2008 as well! I'm only halfway through, but I hope to get another nice big chunk read before Ari finishes working for the night.

Have a great night!

(I just banged my knee into the corner of the bed... the other one is already bruised AND bloody, since, after 10+ years of shaving, I still always nick my legs with a razor! Maybe in 10 more I'll grow out of that...)

Eau de Bengay

2009-01-06T09:14:00.000-08:00

Bon après-midi, mes enfants! I slept in nice and late today (9:50... ha!) and sore as a thumb (?). I used some good ole Bengay last night, which helped for a little. The cartoon above is so true... I am getting so demanding with my backrubs!

We went to breakfast at the diner this morning since Ari had the morning free. Here he is "being a cheese":

I got an egg white omelet with spinach, feta, tomato and onions. I asked for tomatoes and lettuce instead of the potatoes today. I ate almost all of it smothered in delicious ketchup.

Look at all that buttah! I think I can deal with that daily indulgence.

I don't have to work until Saturday night, so I'm just lounging about in my PJs. You know how some people just can't be inside with their shoes on? I'm like that with my watch, one of my rings, and jeans. Isn't that strange?! Do you have any weird quirks like that?

Have a great day!

Rice and tofu, anyone?

2009-01-05T19:13:00.000-08:00

Good evening, my fine non-feathered friends! I hope you've all had lovely days. Mine was quite nice, thank you, although it seemed to pass by so quickly! I think that probably has to do with going back to bed immediately after breakfast. I haven't even been up for 12 hours, but I feel so tired! Strange how that works.

I made it to the gym in time for Vinyasa yoga. Just like the last time (which was Anurasa) it was ridiculously hard for me to do and I found myself looking at the clock every five minutes. There were a lot of poses I had to come out of early because my muscles just couldn't take it. I'm not going to give up, though... I know it will get easier.

On the way to meet Ari after the gym, I ate leftover Gliding Calm tofu, steamed green beans, and Lundberg brown rice blend. Good news: even cold, this tofu is delicious!

I had a Gala apple when I got home while I went through my cookbooks and the new cooking magazines to see what I wanted to make for dinner.

I decided on the mushroom soup from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything...

And the Panang Tofu Curry from the February issue of Bon Appétit in the article on how to cook green in 2009.

The curry was a delicious blend of coconut peanut buttery goodness with a little spice.

The soup was fast, easy and vegan. It would be great as a pasta sauce, or as a topping on fish or chicken (or even steak, for those so inclined). I was cooking everything at once, and I accidentally put some of the tofu into the soup. Whoops! It tasted good, though!

We served the curry over brown rice.

A little cilantro garnish for the soup added some nice color.

I had a glass of white wine, but I only ended up drinking about half of it.

We had some Edy's Slow Churned Rich & Creamy Vanilla Bean ice cream for dessert...

... but what's ice cream without chocolate sauce? I also added some pecans.

I'm watching Prime Suspect (the tv show, not the movie) while Ari finishes up some work. I do love my crime dramas! I have a feeling I'll be dozing off soon, though. Bonne nuit!

Naughty Chocoholic

2009-01-05T08:29:00.000-08:00

It's still sort of morning for me, since I just took a little nap. I desperately needed that sleep, which was made very clear when I fell asleep for the first half of Slumdog Millionaire! It's too bad, because I've been looking forward to seeing it in over a month. What I did see, though, I loved, so I'd recommend it.

I had lunch with Greg, Kalle and Mike at the Metro Diner yesterday. I'd already had coffee (which doesn't usually stop me from having more) but I just felt like sipping on tea.

I've been having a lot of formatting problems with Blogger recently, so sorry about the double image. It doesn't want to delete.

The Metro makes THE best veggie burgers. They're literally over an inch thick, and made with a delicious blend of beans and spices. I didn't get the "deluxe" which comes with fries, but I ate a few of Kalle's.

One of the independent movie theaters we go to has THE best treats. Even though I was still pretty full from lunch, I had two cookies: a chocolate covered coconut macaroon, and a dried fruit and nut rugeleh. So yum, but don't know if I needed both of them...

Someone brought in two packages of Ferrero Rocher chocolates (you know, the milk chocolate hazelnut truffle kind?) and put them up on the little ledge where I sit. One of the waitresses and I (who is also a serious runner) and I tried ignoring them all night (hiding them under my seating chart, putting a glass in front of them, etc) but finally they got the better of us and we each ate one. Pure bliss, but they each have 16g of fat!

I got a salad with potatoes, artichoke hearts, cabbage, tomatoes, carrots, romaine, onions and a hard-boiled egg (they forgot the avocado... sad).

Some of my friends from school (Mike, Greg and Max) came by when I was finishing up so I stayed and had my shift drink with them (note: we have to wait until the end of our shift to drink it, we can't have it while we're working).

I don't know what was going on with me yesterday, but the chocolate/fat/treat/whatever-you-want-to-call-it bug hit me hardcore yesterday. I had a Hershey's Cookies 'n Creme bar on the subway; I don't even really LIKE these and only eat them when I'm really caving them. Oh well, tomorrow is another day, tomorrow is another day...

I made a nice big bowl of overnight oats that I enjoyed around 8:45 this morning.

1/2 cup steal cup oats
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/2 cup skim milk
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 banana (sliced on in the morning)

I was planning to go to an early yoga class, but I decided to go back to sleep and go to the 1:30 class. I'm off to do that now; hopefully "the hair of the dog" will ease my muscle soreness. Have a great day!

Dead Santa

2009-01-04T08:57:00.000-08:00

Good afternoon! Thanks for being so understanding about my slackerdom yesterday. I feel nice and energized today!

Backtrack to yesterday: Ari and I saw this sad sight on the way to breakfast. That might be even more depressing than brown Christmas trees on the sidewalk!

I ordered a huge bowl of oatmeal, which I added skim milk, brown sugar and honey to. Gotta problem with that?

"I wear my sunglasses inside..."

Artsy fartsy picture on the way back from breakkie:

After the gym, I met my mom for some of the best Turkish food I have ever had. We went to Seven's Turkish Grill and each ordered a vegetarian lentil soup:

... and the cold appetizer platter with smoked eggplant, minty yogurt dip (a little thicker than a regular tsatsiki), homemade hummus (!!!), tabouleh, spicy fava bean salad, olives...

And the most bomb-diggity warm and salty bread.

I took a little catnap, then had my pre-work snack. I had a Coconut Cream Pie Larabar, which was, as I remember, fab. I think they should change the name to Coconut Macaroon, though.

I also had some white tea and berry fruit salad.

When I got off work around 11, I had my usual Crispy Crunchy Veggie Salad, but this time I had it with no croutons and added a hard-boiled egg (whose yolk I flicked out... yuck!).

Another caramel Skinny Dipper when I got home... love these guys.

I'm sure there are some Redskins fans out in the blogosphere, so this water bottle will probably only make sense to you. It complimented the photo of my breakfast cookie:

In the cookie:
1/2 cup oatmeal (used up the last of it!)
1/2 scoop protein powder
1 T peanut butter
1 tangerine
2 scoops yogurt
toppings: craisins, raisins, almonds, chocolate chips (this is a keeper!), a date

I had coffee with Ari while he had breakfast. This is him "being a mushroom":

I fully intended on going to the gym today, but time ran out and I am still super duper sore from yoga the other day. Isn't that silly? One of the women I work with is a massage therapist so she pushed on my trigger points, which helped a lot, but I still feel like I have bricks on the backs of my thighs. Ow!

I'm off to have lunch with Kalle, Mike and Greg. Have a great day!

Later Gators

2009-01-03T14:02:00.000-08:00

Heya kiddos! Hope your Saturday is packed with fun. I was pretty exhausted this afternoon so for the 45 minutes that I was home, I decided to nap. Depending on what time I get home from work tonight I might just have to blog tomorrow. Sorry about that, but enjoy your evenings!

Un gustoso notte

2009-01-02T21:19:00.000-08:00

Good evening! Hope you've all had a lovely Saturday. I'm currently watching a special on Billy Joel with Ari... he's trying to convince me that he's a genius. Sorry to all your Billy Joel lovers, but I just don't think my mind is going to be changed!

My cousins are leaving early tomorrow morning, so we had a nice farewell meal at Regional.

We were all starving, so the ciabatta and white bean spread the servers brought out was much appreciated.

My dad and I split two specials: branzino in a white wine sauce with olives, zucchini, tomato, carrots and potatoes...

... and linguine with lobster, mussels and calms in a light red sauce.

I usually don't finish my plate at restaurants, but Daddy-O and I went about 50/50 on this and I ate everything. Delicious!

We had some Montepulciano with dinner, but the pictures didn't come out at all. When I came home, I had one of these:

Yum!

Off to bed with me. Bonne nuit!

Yoga To The People!

2009-01-02T13:09:00.000-08:00

Hello and happy Friday, my fine blogging friends! I hope you've all had wonderful days off, fun holidays, and all that fun stuff. I've been hopping around all over the place, so let's backtrack a little bit.

Yesterday Ari and I went to the diner for breakfast. We tried to learn the ways of the heart rate monitor over coffee:

Whole wheat toast with butter (whoops) and grape jelly. I've said this before, but for some reasons toast without butter at a diner is just plain wrong.

For the main event, I ordered an egg-white fritatta with zucchini, tomato, and ricotta cheese. It had sort of a funky taste that I likened to escargot... not exactly what I was expecting out of my breakfast eggs! I was starving, so I gobbled it all up (with ketchup, of course!) and had a couple of the home fries.

Ari's been working really hard, so I didn't want him to have to worry too much about dinner. I whipped up some Gliding Calm tofu and put it in the fridge, along with some steamed green beans and Lundberg brown rice blend.

I made the tofu a little differently this time; I dusted each piece with a little garlic salt on both sides, then dipped them in the combined maple syrup, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, ginger powder, and that spicy red sauce whose name I am forgetting.

I came home and took a much-needed nap before work; I'm on an early-morning schedule so I get up around 8 but then get really tired mid-day. When I woke up, I whipped up a quick soup using this as a base:

Combined with shirataki noodles and chik'n strips. Fast, easy, comforting.

I also had some Fage with strawbs and blubes:

And some cookies on my way out.

Since people were generous with the coat check tips today, I decided to splurge and get some sushi. I'm so glad I did! I got the sushi combo which comes with a California roll and 7 pieces of assorted fish. Scrumptious.

This morning our way into the city, Ari and I split this Hot'n Healthy bar. I've never tried the Cinnamon Roll flavor before, and we had to eat it cold, but it was still delicious. Ari's not a huge fan of nutrition bars, but he loves these because they taste just like cookies!

Grabbed a coffee with skim on the way to the gym. I only finished half of it because you're not really supposed to drink them inside.

Once I got there I realized I had forgotten my shorts, for the second time this week! I didn't want to give up my workout, so I shelled over another $26 for a new pair. Boo! Once I changed into them, I realized I had also forgotten socks, and I came to the gym wearing tights. (I am so scatterbrained since I also forgot my cell phone and have felt disoriented all day.) Lucky for me there was a yoga class just starting, so I joined that.

Now, I absolutely LOVE yoga, but I haven't done it for over a year. This class was a little advanced for me... I fell over when I tried to do a handstand but did manage to get up into crow pose, if only for a few seconds. I am SO glad I went. I've been a little stressed out recently, what with work and the holidays and very little down time, and yoga was just what I needed. I felt so relaxed afterwards and much more ready to take on the day!

I had a banana in the locker room before showering.

After leaving the gym I rushed uptown to have a girls' lunch with my family. Originally, we'd wanted to go to Alice's Tea Cup (which our very own Heather used to live right next to!), but the wait for a table was an hour and a half so we moved on to Le Pain Quotidien instead.

Because it's Friday and my day off, I had some sauvignon blanc with my water. Woohoo!

Cousins!

Sisters!

You'll have to tilt your head for this one: I ordered an open- faced sandwich with black bean hummus, avocados, zucchinis, radishes, diced peppers and tomatoes and lemon with a spicy tahini sauce on the side. This was delicious. I'm going to try to make the spread myself!

After lunch, we had to make a pit stop at Magnolia. Can you imagine a trip to New York without one of these luscious cupcakes?! I got red velvet with vanilla buttercream. It was good, but I should have gone with my old favorite, devil's food with mocha frosting. Lucky for me, my mama let me finish hers up!

Someone left this Texan cookbook downstairs in the lobby (what we apartment folks do when we don't want something). I'm so excited to use it! I just flipped through and saw great recipes for gazpacho, spoon bread, Texas toast...

Abby and I shopped the sales for several hours today (I didn't find anything, but she had her first taste of Betsey Johnson) and I am pooped! They're all at a play right now, and I'm meeting them for a pizza dinner at 6. Hope you all have a fun night planned!

All is quiet on New Year's Day

2009-01-01T07:12:00.000-08:00

Good morning and Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a fantastically wonderful time. I didn't end up having to work super late; I got off at 1 which was a very pleasant surprise. We were completely full for dinner, and had some people in for drinks and dancing. Ari came at 11:58 which was (sap-ola alert) completely romantic and really sweet. I'm not the biggest fan of New Year's Eve, but having him there made it a lot nicer.

Anyway, back to yesterday's eats! We had a delicious bread spread from Silver Moon. Clockwise from the baguette: Ethiopian bread, baguette, seeded sourdough roll, pumpkin pecan muffin.

For lunch, I made a faux omelet with three egg whites, a roasted tomato, and a Laughing Cow Light cheese. Of the breads, I had a slice of Ethiopian and a wedge of pumpkin muffin.

Plus some strawberry/blueberry fruit salad with Fage:

All together with vitamins and Emergen-C. It's always sort of comical when I take vitamin after vitamin out of my little ziplock baggies... I take so many!

My aunt made her famous chocolate chip cookies, which came out of the oven right before I had to go to work. Abby snapped an ingenious shot of us with the cookie and the curling iron without burning herself... quite impressive.

We had a champagne toast at midnight as the ball dropped. Was it just me or is this the first year the ball was rainbow? The kitchen closed at 11:30, so my dinner was a little cold but still tasty. Here are some beautiful cab photos for you:

Shrimp shumai:

Goat cheese salad (it's there under all that blur, I promise!):

We're off to get breakfast. Have a swell New Year's Day!

Babes in Sugarland

2008-12-31T10:36:00.000-08:00

Hello my long lost friends! I HATE posting once a day, not only because I have about a dozen pictures that need to go up, but I feel like such a bad blogger. When I get back to school it'll be better, I promise.

Yesterday after a ridiculously pathetic workout that I'm not even going to post about (I'll admit, I got a little too party-hardy the night before so getting onto a cardio machine probably wasn't the best idea) I met my mom, aunt, uncle, twin cousins, and George in Union Square for lunch.

After eating something I felt a thousand times better. Is pizza and soda not the best hangover cure? Maybe not the healthiest, but there's something to be said for it. We went to Pie, a cute little pizzeria on 4th avenue (and conveniently across the street from my gym, for future reference). I got a portabello mushroom slice with a diet black cherry soda.

Bere grew an orange moustache:

All in the family! Notice how Abby and I are dressed almost exactly the same.

Abby and I broke off from the group to have some girl time and do a little shopping. We needed some fuel to keep us going, so we stopped in at the Cupcake Café.

Some dancing cupcake showgirls to aid the decor:

I got a chocolate cupcake with mocha frosting. It was almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

I made a nice pre-work snack... I've started eating more meals throughout the day, if you haven't noticed, because of the weird schedule my body is struggling to get used to.

Fage with honey, blackberries and a clemmie:

An Amy's California veggie burger with ketchup and mustard:

One of Melissa's chocolate-covered pretzels...

After I finished work at 11, I had a Crispy Crunchy Veggie Salad (carrots, chickpeas, olives, cucumbers, hearts of palm, celery and romaine) with carrot ginger dressing.

The sushi chef saw me salivating over the sushi bar so surprised me with a California roll. Thanks, Sunny!

Daddy-O and Abby made my favorite: Grandmother's Apple Cake (which you may remember); he brought me a slice to munch on in the car. I LOVE THIS CAKE!

This morning Ari and I woke up bright and early, split this Hot'n Healthy bar (LOVE) and went into the city.

I had a nice long workout to make up for my days of slackage:

Stair Mill:
20:00 minutes
1.76 miles
84 floors climbed
229.9 calories burned

Bike:
25:00 minutes
152 calories burned
3.21 miles

Machines:
shoulder press- 2 x 10 @ 10 lbs
chest press- 3 x 10 @ 10 lbs
lateral raise - 3 x 10 @ 10 lbs
lateral pulldown- 3 x 10 @ 40 lbs

Ab series (minus plank holds)

I popped into Starbucks to refuel. This was my first experience with their "Perfect Oatmeal." I added brown sugar and dried fruit; it was very good and definitely the healthiest thing Starbucks has to offer. Now that they've posted the calories in their baked goods, I don't think I'll be buying their mediocre "treats" again!

We just had our "second Christmas" with the fam. I got some very nice things, including a heart rate monitor! I have been wanting one for SO LONG. I can't wait to figure out how to use it tomorrow!

Have a lovely day, and if I don't see you, have a GREAT NEW YEAR'S!

Guess who?

2008-12-30T07:52:00.000-08:00

Good morning, bloggies! I hope you've slept well. I did my weird get up and have breakfast then go back to sleep for two hours thing. But hey, whatever works.

Last night Kalle and I met for a light dinner before the play at the Aspen Social Club. It was a swanky little place that looked fun; they have a bar with businessmen in the front so we high-tailed it to the back and had an intimate little corner to our very own.

We split a bottle of this chemin blanc:

AMAZING beet salad. Yes, it was as small as it looks, but it was actually the perfect amount. There were two different types of beets (have you ever seen a pink beet? I sure haven't), blue cheese, frisée lettuce and mint. The mint really made it.

We also split an order of polenta fries with gorgonzola sauce. I've never made polenta fries myself, but I know how popular they are in the blogosphere. They were delicious. I'll have to bake me up some of these! I'm pretty sure their version was fried, though.

We snuck some Milano cookies into the theater to see Speed the Plow.

It was great. The acting was amazing, and especially excited because it starred Elisabeth Moss. Does her name sound familiar? It should, because she is.... yes! you guessed it! Peggy on Mad Men!

This morning I woke up and made a breakfast uncookie and used up the last of the peanut butter. I forgot to prepare it and put it in the fridge overnight, but it tasted just fine without being cooked or anything..

1/2 cup oats
2 scoops yogurt
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 tsp PB
dried fruit
1/2 banana

I'm going to the gym now (I've taken way too many days off recently) and then meeting my cousins in Union Square to go shopping. Have a great day!

Role Models?

2008-12-29T13:17:00.000-08:00

Yes, we saw this movie today. It was actually much better than I thought it would be! Ari gave it a C+; I'd probably give it a B. I love me some Paul Rudd. I was so jealous of Cher!

I forgot to bring my camera to work last night. I was going to try to use Paint to draw you my salad, but I couldn't find the application! Oh well. It was a Cobb with avocado, tomato, cabbage, lettuce and crumbled blue cheese. I had little carrot ginger dressing on the side. I also had a vodka soda for my shift drink.

My nice nice Daddy-O drove me to Queens, and brought treats! I had two of Melissa's chocolate- covered cashew butter sandwich cookies.

I also had a piece of trail mix bark. I have the eating bug this week! Sorry for these pictures... I took them in the car, as you can probably tell.

Another morning at the diner! I should just call Ari Coffee Boy from now on... he's always in my coffee pictures.

Toasted sesame bagel with lox, onion, lettuce, tomato, a little cream cheese and capers. I might take Sarah's suggestion and start bringing Laughing Cow Light wedges with me.

After the movie, I'd been planning on going to the gym (I was even in my workout clothes!) but I just didn't feel like it. I felt guilty about that decision later, but whatever.

I stopped at Whole Foods and had a late lunch (you'd think I'd have learned by now). I filled up at least half of the container with mixed greens, then topped it with two kinds of tofu (including an inferior version of Gliding Calm's sesame-ginger kind), green beans, artichokes and sesame noodles. I've been craving cold sesame noodles- you know, the really good Chinese take-out kind? Well, I haven't been able to find any that are satisfactory ANYWHERE. I might just have to make some myself.

The carbo-load this morning apparently didn't satiate me, so I grabbed a cranberry walnut roll and a coconut water. I LOVE this stuff.

Here are some shots of the view outside our living room window, courtesy of Ma Veggie Patch:

I might do a little yoga or ab work... I feel sort of like a slob today. I'm going to a play tonight with Kalle; I'm not sure if we'll get dinner before since I ate such a late lunch. My family is also coming tonight for a week... I'm so excited!

Have a great evening!

2008-12-28T13:03:00.000-08:00

Good afternoon! I had a great workout at the gym today. I finally remembered to bring a notebook with me to write all my stats down so I don't lose all those little scraps of paper.

Stair Mill:
20:00 minutes
91 floors
1.9 miles
238.3 calories burned

Elliptical:
6:00 minutes (HA)
.39 miles
45.9 calories burned

Bike:
18:00 minutes
2.67 miles
121 calories burned

Ab series

When I was finished, I scarfed down this juicy apple:

After a brief stint at Sephora playing the the make-up, I went home to have lunch. Note to self: waiting to eat lunch until 3 PM makes me crabby.

I made a delicious leftover salad with romaine, basmati rice, shrimp curry and swiss chard.

While watching The Visitor, I dug into Sarah's biscuit bread.

It tasted like a sweet cinnamon babka roll. Well done, Miss! I had a small slice and the butt. Mama and Papa Veggiepatch enjoyed some, too.

I also had a bowl of Fage with blackberries, a clementine and honey. Pre-shift fuel is very important!

Time for work. Have a fantastic evening!

One Cute Cookie

2008-12-28T07:29:00.001-08:00

Good morning sunshines! How did you sleep? I slept well, thank you. I got cut early last night so I got to leave work at midnight instead of 2 AM. I love when that happens! I got some bum news last night: I have to work on New Years Eve. I know it's not such a big deal, and "it's only a day," as Ari said. It's just sad because I haven't had a "real" New Years Eve in years, and even if it was kind of mellow (like going out to dinner and watching movies at home) it would have been special. But, there's always the chance that I'll be let off early and get to have some kind of evening of my own, so I'm not losing heart.

For some reason (je te déteste, Safari), my pictures loaded backwards and sideways today, so bear with me while I recap in reverse.

We had a full house this morning! A lot of Ari's family is here right now, so we had a nice breakfast together. I had my now daily breakfast cookie:

Papa Ari thought it was hummus! I wonder how that would taste...

1/2 cup oats

1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder

1 portion applesauce

1 tbsp PB

2 heaping scoops yogurt

dried fruit

Kalle and her friends surprised me last night by stopping by the restaurant. I love my little redheaded girl. I had a small mixed green salad with carrot ginger dressing:

And (surprise!) steamed shrimp dumplings.

Before I left last night I had a thick slice of my dad's maple oatmeal bread with 1/2 almond butter/blackberry jam, 1/2 honey. I also had a bowl of Fage with pumpkin and honey.

I have to surrender the computer now... have a great day!

HapBEE Saturday!

2008-12-27T09:55:00.000-08:00

Good morning, friends! Well, afternoon, evening, whatever it is. My sense of time is so off right now... at the soup kitchen this morning someone mentioned an event on Sunday, and I looked blankly at her and said "Sunday...?" She gave me a weird look and said, "You know, the day after Saturday and before Monday?" Whoops!

I woke up bright and early to have breakfast with Ari. I had a breakfast cookie, coffee with milk (probably not skim) and water. Note to self: black table + red glass= invisible beverage!

In the cookie:
1/2 cup oats
1/2 scoop protein powder
2 heaping spoonfuls yogurt
1 clementine
1 tbsp PB
dried fruit (craisins, currents, dates and prunes)

The soup kitchen wasn't very busy this morning, which was a little odd because there are usually more people towards the end of the month. It was still nice, though, because it meant more food for the folks who were there. One of the men who works there burst into song; "Auld Lang Syne" for New Years in baritone. Everyone joined in, and it was very festive. That song always makes me think of When Harry Met Sally! Maybe I'll try to rent that for New Years Eve.

My mom and I had a nice lunch at PicNic.

I'm feeling a little funky so I didn't want any more coffee. I had some Organic Breakfast tea with tea and lemon.

We split a couple things: Eggs "Benedict" (with gravlax insead of Canadian bacon) with the sauce on the side; we each had one and I didn't have any fries.

And a cheese soufflé with tomato sauce. Uh, yum.

We split the little side salad.

For some reason I was still snacky after all that, so I had a piece of Melissa's trail mix chocolate bark. THIS IS SO GOOD. The chewy/crunchy combination INSIDE the chocolate is pretty fab.

And... surprise! Christmas isn't over!!! I got an AMAZING package from my Sarah (whom I miss very much) today. She appliquéd this adorable shirt (with a BEE, which is my power animal, FYI) and "happened" to bake some of her grandma's Finnish Biscuit Bread. I can't wait to try some!

Look how cute! She's the best.

Even though I already packed my gym bag and shlepped it into Manhattan, I'm not feeling so great so I think I'm just going to take a bath and do some gentle yoga.

Enjoy your Saturdays!

Mama Day

2008-12-26T19:11:00.000-08:00

VALKYRIE! Go see it. So good. And eat a Banana Bread Larabar while you're at it, just like I did.

Good evening! I don't know why this blue link is showing up, but it's annoying me, too. GRR. I had a great workout at the gym today, thanks to Miss Bella Swan (I'll be finished with the series soon, and after that I promise I'll stop being so annoying).

20 minutes stairmill/ 20 minutes bike/ arms/abs.

I was RAVENOUS in the locker room so I had this bag of radishes that's been in my purse for way too long.

I don't know if any of you all have this problem, but Safari never lets me rotate pictures, even if they're already saved right-side up. Bah. I went to Whole Foods and got some sushi:

My mom and I found some AMAZING sales in Union Square (including a pretty new gym bag!). Across from a store where we found beautiful designer dresses for 75% off (!) we spotted this adorable little wine bar.

We each got a glass of Vouvray, which is sort of the "house white" in Paris.

While making dinner tonight, I snacked on some carrots.

The last time I went grocery shopping I found this great whole grain blend. I decided to cook some of it up tonight.

I finally made some Gliding Calm tofu at home, for first-timers Ari and his brother. We don't have a glass baking dish so I just used a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. The result was a little less saucy and carmelized than usual, but it was still good. We also had some steamed spinach... this is my go-to meal at school, but I don't want them to make them go back to eating college food!

Sliced apple for dessert (so far, so good...)

I also had a gingerbread buddy covered with a thin layer of PB and chocolate frosting.

And then came the Oreos. The problem with these guys, which I never forget, is that, like Pringles, once I pop the fun can't stop. I've already had FOUR of these and I have a feeling that it's not the end of the insatiable monster within me. Oh well, as I always say: tomorrow is another day.

Hope you've had a great Friday! Bonne nuit.

"There's nothing as over as Christmas"

2008-12-26T07:13:00.000-08:00

My mom used to say that, and I think she learned it from my grandpa. Sad but true, ALTHOUGH my aunt, uncle and twin cousins are coming on Monday, so we'll have Christmas #2 and some quality family time. When I was little we used to always do that- spend Christmas day here in New York, then leave for Indianapolis a couple days later to have New Years with my mom's side of the family.

Yesterday before the movie, I had a big bowl of Mueslix with a banana and skim milk.

Hmm. So The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was... interesting. To be fair, I was asleep during the first hour of the movie (I'm such an old man) so I missed the beginning set-up and context. But, that said- and this is all I'll say because I don't want to spoil it- Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt were obviously gorgeous, but that's pretty much all the movie had going for it. Oh well! The lines outside the theater were ridiculous. They went 3/4 of the way around the block! The Ziegfeld is a really cool old theater; I think it's the biggest one in Manhattan, so at least we all got to sit in the same area.

We came home for a tasty Christmas dinner prepared by my one and only Daddy-O. We started off with a little Austrian white wine- how great is this bottle?!

We packed up the gingerbread cookies:

Poor Rudolph lost his head:

For some reason this picture won't rotate at all, but on the plate is spiced baked plantains and sweet potatoes from The Soul of A New Cuisine, a crawfish cake, and sautéed red swiss chard with onions and toasted almonds.

The bûche just might have been better on the second day. I asked to have the end piece, which was covered with a thick slab of marzipan. YUM.

And another little marzipan pinecone:

My breakfast cookie got a lot of goodnatured laughs while I was making it last night... I guess it's not the most appetizing thing to look at!

We tried out the gingerbread this morning. White piping icing was NOWHERE to be found, so we settled for dipping them into Betty Crocker chocolate frosting. Things could be worse.

I'm off to go to the gym and meet my mama for some shopping. Have a great day!

Have a holly jolly Christmas!

2008-12-25T11:10:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas / Solstisce/ Festivus, everyone! So far it's been a perfect day spent in the company of family and food. What's better than that?

My parents, Ari and I all decided that before we could open presents, we needed to eat some Trying to Heal goodies. I had a chocolate-covered cashew butter sandwich, which was even better than I remembered. I'll be sad when these guys are gone!

Here's a little re-cap, courtesy of master photographer and boyfriend Ari:

Trying on his new duds:

Baking gingerbread cookies!

We had a little difficulty with the dough; after about two minutes of being out of the freezer, it would get really soft and sticky and totally uncuttable.

Lilveggiepatch family Christmas favorite: baked German apple pancake.

With maple syrup for dipping, vitamins and Emergen-C:

I was still hungry so I heated up a Boca Spicy Chik'n burger and had it with ketchup and mustard.

Here's some of my foodie-related gifts, including much-needed cutting boards!

Every Christmas we see a movie; today we're going to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Hope it's good! Merry Christmas and have a GREAT day!

Not a creature was stirring...

2008-12-24T20:24:00.000-08:00

Yep, everyone at home is in bed but I seem to find myself wide awake. I hate when that happens!

After my Chinese food fiasco, I took a little nap and woke up famished. Quick fix: clementines!

And a box of blackberries. So sweet and juicy!

We made a shrimp curry for dinner with snow peas, corn, red pepper and coconut milk. Pretty yum.

We also whipped up some chapatis. Here, you can see the Chapati King is hard at work:

Triscuit+ cheese+ blackberry= surprisingly tasty combo.

I had one tuna/eggplant chapati...

A glass of wine...

Emergen-C and vitamins...

I ate the curry with a little basmati and two chapatis.

Mystery dessert... what could be in the box?

A Bûche du Noël! Also known as a chocolate yule log cake.

I've been criticized a lot recently for the quality of my photos. So, sorry about that folks.

Hope you have a wonderfully happy holiday. Night night!

Ho, Ho, Ho!

2008-12-24T13:26:00.000-08:00

T-minus six hours until Christymisty!

Last night before work I had a date with PB. It looks a little ominous out there by its lonesome.

Last night at work, I ordered a bowl of black bean soup (sorry for the horrible picture):

I also got some shrimp dumplings, which are pretty much invisible due to the glare. Sorry!

I had some blackberries when I got home.

This morning we woke up very early and got breakfast before the clock struck 8. Who am I and what have I done with Katie?

Bagel with lox... I probably ate about 1/20 of that cream cheese.

It was a morning for pie! Pecan pie is Ari's favorite... I'm not such a fan so I didn't have any.

A couple hours later I took Megan's suggestion and heated up this Clif bar. Very good! Ari had a bite, but the top was too "white and creamy" for him.

I hauled tail back to Manhatty and was greated by this lovely rum cake. My babysitter, who is from Jamaica, used to make this for me when I was little. So. Good. I felt like Proust and tasted my childhood as soon as I had a bite!

I had a little sliver, which I spread out to look like teeth. Santa has to chew his cookies with something!

We got Chinese food for lunch, which I've been craving. Bad choice. This place used to be delicious, but it was so bad. No flavor at all.

They were shelling a lot of beans... I discretely (although my idea of "discretion" has been greatly blurred since I became a blogger) snapped a photo...

I ordered a lunch special that started with a bowl of miso soup (thick and gluey):

A greasy spring roll:

Mushroom tofu and brown rice. I literally had one bite and lost my appetite, but I may not be able to blame that all on the food. I brought it home, so maybe I'll eat it later.

The tea was good! I had almost that whole pot to myself.

Off to find some holiday cheer, and make some gingerbread cookies with the fam. Have a great and magical night!

I just can't get enough

2008-12-23T14:21:00.000-08:00

Happy Christmas Eve Eve! This is always such a strange day... it feels like it should be a holiday, but it's not. I tend to Grinch-out a little with all the crowds... everyone (including myself!) is frantic trying to find last minute gifts, and it is pure and utter chaos. Humbug!

Last night I ordered something different from work when I finished my shift: veggie stirfry! It was made up of carrots, broccoli, zucchini and fresh ginger, and came with a side of steamed rice. The thing about ordering a stir fry at a restaurant is you never know how much oil it's being cooked in. This one tasted pretty greasy, but it was delicious and I was pretty hungry so I ate the whole thing! I had about 1/3 of the rice.

My dad was nice enough to pick me up from work and drive me from Queens. He brought me a sack full of clemmies, and although I was stuffed I had to taste one (or six) to make sure they were good. They were.

Another citrus-y breakfast cookie:

This guy was made with:
1/2 cup oats (ish)
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 tbsp PB
1 clementine
2 spoonfulls yogurt
dried fruit (craisins, currents, date)

I slept in a little this morning (meaning, I got up at 8, ate breakfast, and promptly got back under the covers and slept for 3 more hours) and then went back into Manhattan to meet my little redheaded friend (Kalle!) for lunch at Alice's Tea Cup. Oh, you guys would all love this place! It's decorated to look like the Mad Hatter's tea room, and everything in there is Alice themed. It's impossible to go in there and NOT be happy.

We started out with a pot 'o Christmas Tea (note the little kitty that catches the drips!):

I ordered my usual, the Light Fare of a bowl of soup (chickpea artichoke) and Warm Pear and Belgian Endive Salad that comes with roquefort cheese and carmelized onions. So. Freaking. Good. The bread that comes with the soup is also divine... it's soft and buttery and has some kind of herb in it... maybe chive? I ate every last bite of everything!

We stopped at the new Magnolia Bakery on the Upper West Side...

We each got a devil's food cupcake with mocha frosting. Holy Yum, Veggie Girl!

I almost talked myself out of going to the gym, but I know I won't get there tomorrow or Christmas (there are better things to do!) so I settled for a quick workout.

Stair Mill:
20:00 minutes
1.8 miles
86 floors climbed
227.1 calories burned

Machines:
shoulder press- 3 x 10 @ 10 lbs
chest press- 3 x 10 @ 10 lbs
lateral pulldown- 3 x 10 @ 10 lbs
lateral raise- 3 x 10 @ 10 lbs

Usual ab series minus plank holds

Sometimes my joints kind of "pop" when I'm doing exercises. Does this happen to anyone else?

I came home to drop off my sweaty gym clothes and found this ENORMOUS container of Fage in the fridge.

I can't get enough of these clementines! I had a bowl of yogurt with one clementine, blackberries, and basswood-flavored honey.

Off to work... it's an early night (I get off at 11) so it shouldn't be too bad. Have a great night!

Hustle & Go

2008-12-22T14:34:00.000-08:00

I've got to run to work in a few minutes, so I'm going to make this quick! I didn't think I was going to be able to stop at home, but my bags were so heavy that I thought I'd take the extra subway trips to lighten my load.

I can't stop making breakfast cookie faces! I didn't want someone to open the fridge and think it was just mush and throw it out, and who would throw this baby out? I didn't have any banana or yogurt so this cookie was a little different today:

1/2 cup oats
1 clementine
1/2 scoop of my new Kashi protein powder (good!)
1 tbsp peanut butter
craisin eyes, prune nose, current smile

I went back to sleep after breakfast until ONE. My sleeping schedule is pretty whacked-out. I had a small coffee with skim milk on the subway on the way to the gym:

I had a great workout today. I decided to just use the stair mill, so I stayed on longer than usual. I left my ipod at school by mistake, so I was very happy to see the new issue of SELF in the magazine rack!

Stair Mill:
42:00 minutes
169 floors climbed
447 calories burned

ab series (the planks are getting MUCH easier for me to do!)

I was pretty hungry so I had a clemmie while I dried my hair in the locker room:

I read in SELF that post-exercise, you shouldn't eat much more than 18% of carbs in your meal. That translates into no energy bars for at least 3 hours after your workout. Interesting!

I re-feuled at Whole Foods. I missed this salad bar! Roughly what I had:
tabouli
falafel ball (NOT good, very dry... but I kept "tasting" it to see until I liked it more until it was all gone)
vegan "chicken" salad
3 types of tofu: fried sweet & spicy, baked plain, BBQ with edamame
mixed greens
pad thai (we serve this at my restaurant, and rather than order it for dinner I thought I'd get a little taste to satisfy my craving)
2 dumplings (again, thought I'd satisfy that craving and maybe I won't order the shrimp dumplings for dinner tonight!)

With coconut water (LOVE this... I rarely treat myself to it, though):

And I grabbed a chocolate hazelnut biscotti on the way out. I think I've been having biscotti-envy from K's ABC breakfasts... this was so good! I forgot how much I love biscotti :-)

Time for work, catch ya later!

"Well done Pig, well done."

2008-12-21T20:39:00.001-08:00

Oof, I am stuffed. Everything has finally settled and I'm a pleasant, satiated kind of full. We dined like kings and queens tonight; everything was absolutely delicious and worth every splurge-a-rific bite. Here's a little re-cap of the party:

Georgie D. playing some holiday jingle:

What's a party without a little champagne?

Daddy-O passionately guarding the shallot/endive/anchovy tart:

One of my oldest friends Niki:

Niki, who made said tart... très parisienne.

Appetizer spread:

Blurry appetizers (crudités, sliver of tart, marinated green & white asparagus):

Mama in her pretty green Christmas blouse:

These caviar/potato puffs come with Karen every year, and we all anxiously await their arrival. They are the bane of our existences, I tell you.

Almost everything my dad made tonight came from this Marcus Samuelsson cookbook. These tasty little items were curry-spiced chapatis with a layer of puréed eggplant and seared sushi-grade tuna, drizzled with black olive oil sauce. These were amazing. I had more than my fair share...

Happy Chanukah!

Shot of Armenian lentil soup:

Clockwise from bottom: couscous, molasses-glazed carrots, quince peanut salad.

Shot of another Moosewood soup, but I've forgotten the name. It was made with sour cream, and tasted a lot like the paprika sauces that are all over Hungarian cuisine.

Now for the dessert! Here's the cake my mama and I made (chocolate gingerbread coffee bundt with hazelnut poached pear and coffee whipped cream):

Coconut tapioca over a lemongrass tangerine reduction, topped with a great big blackberry:

And, although I was positively stuffed, I just had to try one of Trying to Heal/ Rainforestgurl's cashew butter chocolate dipped cookies. Oh my sweet lordy, I have died and gone to heaven. This was the perfect ending to a delicious night.

I'm off to see if the boy will watch A Nightmare on Elm Street with me... chances are slim, but I can always hope!

I picked up this protein powder on the way home... am I the only person who didn't know that Kashi made it?

Bonne nuit!

Vampire Weekend... and a BIG surprise!

2008-12-21T11:16:00.000-08:00

Hello, hello! I hope this Sunday has been restful and happy, as Sundays are meant to be. I got off work at 1:30; it was a pretty good night, restaurant-wise. About half my high school showed up for drinks, surprisingly! I guess I'm sort of in the neighborhood for that to happen.

I slept pretty badly for two reasons:
1) I woke up just in time to see Ari's hand come flying towards my head. I glared at him (which I'm sure he could see, in his sleepy haze) and he said, "Sorry... I was trying to chop off your head." Then he proceeded to make sawing motions on the back of my neck for a good 10 seconds. Of course, he has absolutely no recollection of this... Silly boy.

2) Twilight readers, maybe you'll understand: I had THE most terrifying dreams about vampires. Not sweet, cuddly, Edward Cullen-esque "vegetarians," but cutthroat, apocalypse-starting bloodsuckers. I remember grabbing bundles of chopsticks to kill them with (AKA wooden-stakes, for all you Buffy ignorants). I know it sounds very silly, but it was quite scary!

Anyway, on to breakkie: whole wheat toast with butter (forgot to ask for it "dry"), a bowl of fruit and coffee.

I went to the gym but my pen exploded, so I don't have any stats for you, sorry! I did 20 minutes on the stair mill, 6 on the bike, arm and ab exercises.

I came home to a wonderful surprise. Now, I don't want to brag, but I pretty much have the best Secret Santa ever to have graced this earth. Melissa over at Trying to Heal sent just about the sweetest, most thoughtful (and time consuming!) treats ever! Look at this cute little card:

GIANT BOX OF GOODIES!

Inside were:

trail mix chocolate bark
chocolate-covered cashew butter sandwiches
TtH's very own trail mix!!!

I'm sure you'll see these in just about every post coming up... I can't WAIT to try all theses scrumptious things!

THANK YOU MELISSA!!!

I was STARVING after the gym, so I made a quick mess of Fage, 1/2 banana, pumpkin and syrup from the poached pears (read on!).

And finally... here is the cake my mom and I were making yesterday. It's a chocolate coffee gingerbread bundt with hazelnut poached pears.

We're having our annual holiday party tonight. My dad has really outdone himself! I'll share the pictures and some recipes with you later.

Party time! I REALLY need to catch up on the blogs. Have a great evening!

Spicy Saturday

2008-12-20T13:12:00.000-08:00

Hello and happy Saturday! The day has sort of a strange vibe to it today, I'm not sure why... it might have to do with the fact that I just took a two and a half hour nap. Hmmm...

After the soup kitchen this morning, my mom met me for brunch at PicNic. This place has been in our neighborhood for a while, and is, I believe, the sister restaurant to my beloved Silver Moon bakery. It used to be an upscale food store, but it turned into a full-fledged restaurant a years ago.

We started off with bread. I had a slice of baguette with a little butter:

We both ordered eggs. My mom got the spinach and herb omelette (I nibbled, it was very good).

I got an egg white spinach and potato fritatta. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but this was HUGE. I ate about 2/3, brought the rest home, and was VERY full.

It came with a great salad of bib lettuce with a tasty and delicate vinaigrette.

I was intent on reading while I snacked on this navel orange...

... but I fell asleep. When I woke up, it was time to bake!

I made a bowl of pre-work oats first: coconut chocolate banana cream pie oatmeal. YUM.

1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup skim milk
2/3 banana
2 tsp cocoa powder
chocolate chips
pecans
shredded unsweetened coconut

On to the baking! We're making this recipe. Here are the sum of its parts:

I can't wait to show you what it looks like when its done. I'm off to work now... I might have to work until 2 AM, so look for the post tomorrow morning. Have a great night!

Soup's on!

2008-12-20T06:24:00.000-08:00

Good morning! I'm still a little groggy, so if this post is amassed with typos you have my sincere apologies in advance.

As a pre-work snack last night, I had a warm pita with almond butter, banana, honey and cinnamon.

I took the Crispy Crunch Salad (radishes, romaine, carrots, artichokes, chick peas, hearts of palm, croutons - which I flicked out) home after work and ate it on my walk home. Classy, huh? I used about half the dressing they gave me, but the "vinaigrette" was still think. I'm going to get oil & vinegar next time.

Sweet tooth greeted me at home: vanilla swiss almond with passion fruit preserves:

I also had two truffles, but couldn't find the camera. They were yum, but maybe not worth it.

Half of a Clif Bar before soup kitchen, if you can see it in the arms of my frog, Leon:

I'm off to the soup kitchen! I'm meeting my mom afterwards to bake a treat for the Brunch. Have a great Saturday!

You'll shoot your eye out, kid!

2008-12-19T13:40:00.000-08:00

Hiya kiddos! I'm so sorry about the posting delay. I hate posting once a day! Oh, how did I live before the blog? (Just kidding... sort of.)

I had a nice dinner at home with my parents last night. My dad made one of my favorites: a sort of Cajun-rubbed salmon. We also had garlicky broccoli and basmati rice. I enjoyed it all with a nice mug of skim milk.

We had Haagen-Daaz Vanilla Swiss Almond ice cream for dessert; it's a Lilveggiepatch family favorite. We had it with homemade passion fruit jam that we brought back from Switzerland a few years ago. The flavors had time to steep together and it was delicious on the ice cream!

We watched A Christmas Story while we ate; I had to leave before the movie was over so I'm watching it while I type this. My mom gets so excited each year because she's from Indiana, too! Apparently the house has been restored to "its original splendor," with all the old furnishings and everything!

Ari treated me to breakfast this morning at our diner. What a nice boy! Look at that fuzzy smile.

Bagel with lox it was, again! I got the cream cheese on the side, and I only spread a little on each quarter.

Breakfast was a little bigger than I'm used to, and it put me right to sleep for two hours. The epic napper is back! I had a banana and left for the gym.

We got so much snow today, and it's still coming down! I thought I got a vacation from this! Actually, I'm hoping it'll stay around until next Thursday... we haven't had a white Christmas in years.

My workout was less intense than yesterday, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sweaty and gross by the time I was done. I was so sore when I woke up this morning. Guess I haven't done a workout like that since before my injury. My little abs (very little) hurt when I laughed! No pain, no gain, right?

Stair mill:
20:16 minutes
201 calories burned
1.57 miles
75 floors climbed

Elliptical:
10:08 minutes
102 calories burned
.89 miles

Bike:
10:00 minutes
1.5 miles
74 calories burned

Usual ab series (I added a 6-pound medicine ball to my seated twists today and yesterday, which probably added to my soreness).

I was starving when I finished, so I had half of a Pear Apple Streusel Clif Bar. I was SO EXCITED to finally find this... it's the one flavor I hadn't found! (Yes, I know it's a little sad to get so happy about a nutrition bar, but whatever.) It was pretty good, but I think I still prefer the kinds with chocolate in them.

I got home around 4:15 and made a huge salad. We conveniently had some of these Morningstar Farms Chik'n Meal starters, unopened, in the freezer from over the summer. I always forget how much I love these, which is sad because they are SO GOOD!

In my salad:
romaine
Chik'n Strips
grapes
apple (I ate most of it before it made it into my bowl; I was so hungry!)
craisins
walnuts
vinaigrette: mustard, pear-infused vinegar, olive oil, salt & pepper

I'm going to have a little snack before I go to work tonight, since I won't get to eat until midnight. Enjoy your Friday nights!

Missing cord

2008-12-19T07:02:00.000-08:00

Hola! Just wanted to let you know that I forgot my cord at home last night, so I won't be able to update for a few more hours! Sorry guys! I didn't forget :-)

Have a great Friday, and see you soon!

Back on the saddle

2008-12-18T13:21:00.000-08:00

Hello and happy Thursday! I hope everyone's having a fabulous day. Mine's been going pretty well so far... I went to the gym, had a yummy lunch... what more could a girl ask for?

Last night before bed I had the other half of my Zone chocolate almond bar... it didn't grow on me at all. Yuck.

I slept in until 10:30 today, which was g-l-o-r-i-o-u-s. I had a hard time falling asleep last night, so the extra hours felt great.

I woke up and had a packet of maple sugar instant oatmeal and an apple. I bought four Galas last night, and I've already eaten three of them!

I went into Manhattan to meet up with George. He kindly offered me guest passes to his gym, and I can use them the whole time I'm home! Woohoo!

I stopped at Au Bon Pain and got a small coffee to go (3/4 Morning Blend, 1/4 Hazelnut with a skim milk):

My workout was GREAT. It's been exactly a month since I last went to the doctor for my stress fracture, which means I can step my workouts up a little. George showed me how to use the stairmill, which I loved.

Stair Mill:
20:07 minutes
187.06 calories burned
69 floors climbed

Elliptical:
10:00 minutes (the machine turned off on me!)
90 calories burned
distance: ???

Bike:
22:00 minutes
146 calories burned
3.06 miles

Machines:
shoulder press- 3 x 10 @ 10 lbs
chest press- 3 x 10 @ 10 lbs
lateral raise- 1 x 10 @ 20 lbs, 2 x 10 @ 10 lbs
dual pulley pulldown- 2 x 10 @ 30 lbs

Mini ab-series

I didn't end up getting home until 4, and I was STARVING. I made another strange sandwich: tuna on cinnamon raisin bread with cheddar, lettuce and roasted red peppers.

My dad made another Moosewood soup: Potage à la Bretonne (with leeks, navy beans, oninons, etc). DELICIOUS.

My eyes were bigger than my head, and I only ended up eating about half of the soup. I'm a good full, though!

I've been alternating between Oxygen and MTV. Have you ever seen the dating show "Next"? It is SO HORRIBLE. It promotes the WORST ideals I've ever seen (superficiality, misogyny, you get the idea). Most reality shows are kind of like this, but it's the worst in this genre I've seen. It put me into such a bad mood!

I'm going to go meet Greg for coffee. Have a lovely evening!